Had a funny turn today

[quadrophenia]

had to pull over whilst driving and get my brother to pick me up, car still where i left it. Suddenly came over very hot, tingly feet, jelly legs, felt very vacant with a racing heart. Nothing whatsoever led up to this, was very scarey. Have had turns like this in the past, variou bloods have been taken and all seems okay. Anyway went to drs three hours later and my heart was still racing, over 100 bpm but was given an ECG and thankfully all fine. Dr has given me propanalol but without any kind of real diagnosis, i am still very concerned as I can't even begin to tell you how ill these turns make me feel (this is the worse one I have had). It leaves me feeling incredibly tired and shakey. Prior to this i had a nice morning with friend absolutely nothing led to it at all, was just driving along

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thankyou, no referal as ECG was fine despite high heart rate, this happening more frequently and getting more ssevere but Gp's seem at a bit of a loss

panic attack ?

oh you poor thing, how scary !! (hug) , maybe a second opinion?

How frightening for you, Quadrophenia.
Could this be related to your blood sugar levels?

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NDP it does sound like a panic attack doesn't it, but really was not panicing was thinking about what i was going to have for my lunch. I really was very calm when it started, GP did ask about panic attacks but thought that as my heart was still racing three hours later it was unlikely. Lulama this is the second doctor I've seen now, not quite sure why the propanalol though, without diagnosis.

Hc thanks, have had diabetes test as am high risk due to gestational diabetes x3 and family diabetics btu all came back ok.

propanolol is a beta blocker. It is fairly standard in cardiac problems afaik.

The thing about panic attacks is you don't have to worrying about something for them to start. They can just come on from some lingering anxiety about something else.

ahh I see, well hopefully it will make a difference, this is really getting me down, can't believe i felt so ill i had to abondon my car!

beta blockers are also used to treat anxiety

have you had a thyroid function test? overactive thyroid can cause heart palpitations like this. I had an overactive thyroid 13 years ago, and about two years previous I went through a stage of having attacks like you described, they were like panic attacks, and I never told anyone as I thought I was going mad, but when my overactive thyroid was diagnosed, from different simptoms altogether, the consultant said that these simptoms were probably down to the thyroid condition.

also, how much coffee/coke do you drink? cafeen can cause palpitations too - worth thinking about?

wannabe, have had a thyroid test, again its prevelant in the family but no mine is well within normal levels. To be honest I had drank more coffee than usual this morning as I had a friend over maybe i should buy some decaff.

NDP it seems like because she can't specifically diagnose and my symptoms fall into bith cardiac and anxiety that she is trying me with something which treats both. I really hope it helps.

quad - Propranolol is also used fr other things including thyriod problems and migraine - see this extract from Netdoctor

I was prescribed it for migraine once but it affected my asthma

How does it work?

Propranolol belongs to a group of medicines called beta-blockers, which block beta receptors in the heart, lungs and other organs of the body. Blocking these receptors prevents the action of two chemicals called noradrenaline and adrenaline that occur naturally in the body. These are often referred to as the 'fight or flight' chemicals as they are responsible for the body's reaction to stressful situations.

Blocking the beta receptors in the heart causes the heart to beat more slowly and with less force. The heart therefore uses less energy and the pain of angina is prevented. Slowing the heart also helps control abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), which can seriously undermine the pumping action of the heart and result in inefficient blood circulation around the body.

Due to the heart beating more slowly and with less force, the pressure at which blood is pumped out of the heart to the rest of the body is reduced. This is just one of the ways in which beta blockers help to reduce blood pressure, however the whole mechanism is not fully understood.

This medicine has been shown to reduce the damage to the heart if taken in the period shortly following a heart attack. This decreases the likelihood of having a further heart attack and lowers the risk of continued illness and death.

Propranolol is also used to control symptoms such as rapid heart rate, sweating and tremor associated with anxiety or excess thyroid hormone (thyrotoxicosis).

It is also used to prevent migraine, although it is not fully understood how propranolol works in this area.

Thanks Iota that is really helpful

I have had a couple of panic attacks that sound very much like this, one of them also whilst driving on the motorway which was very scary. I sympathise with you. Hope you are okay.

Thankyou nogoes, I'm sure that was very scarey, fortunately I was only about 5 minutes from home
The panic attack anxiety thing does make sense but I'm honestl;y very relaxed and not overly stressed about anything so its liek I'm displaying all the symptoms without being worried or anxious

the daft thing is Quad, if it does the trick for you, you will have no idea what the cause was, but at least you'll be cured

Iota that is so fine by me

My first thought when I read this was a panic attack.
Has happened to me several times in the past, even when i've been sitting relaxing.

Poor you, Quad. To some extent sounds like a panic attack. Even though you were feeling relaxed, perhaps the episode was triggered by subconscious thoughts.

i would say panica attack as i have then alot just like what you said. soz to hear that as they are very scarey esp when its the first time of having them, i remember my first one i was happy just had dinnerwith my hubby then i went all funny i really thought i was going to die my heart was racing my mouth was dry my face was tingleing i was hot and cold and was sacking very bad after the attack i went to sleep as i felt very very tired. good luck and i wish you wellxxxxhopoe i helped a little

This sounds a little like me, I have been referred to a cardiologist, and was set up with a novicor heart moniter for a week, although it didnt show my problems it did show that I had an ectopic heartbeat, but I was told when I had another attack go straight to casualty and ask for an ECG, this happened a few weeks ago and it showed that my heart was indeed racing at 179beats!, I was then referred to a cardiologist in London who diagnosed me with SVT, and i 2 wks I will be having an op to sort it out!

If I was you, go back to your GP, at first my GP said he didnt know what it was and really and truly shrugged it off!